One Last Look
by A-Little-Bit-Of-Awesomeness
Summary: During the Season Six finale, Penny takes one last look at Leonard as goes into the airport. Lenny.


Penny took one last look at him. A couple more seconds of his familiar hoodie, converse shoes and chocolate coloured jeans. A final sight of his unruly, yet glossy hair that she loved to run her fingers through. A concluding glimpse of him as he wheeled his suitcase into the airport, until he was entirely out of sight.

Once Leonard left, Penny felt numb. _Four months?_ The entire summer would be spent without him; they can't exactly meet each other halfway when he's on a boat in the North Sea. She had thought she would feel depressed, however she just felt so empty. So, so _empty_…

"Penny, our necessity to evacuate the red zone is increasing at an immensely alarming rate!" Sheldon stated irritably, staring fretfully at a nearby police car. Penny sat up straight and realised that Sheldon had moved into the seat next to her. He hurriedly pulled across his seatbelt and she did the same.

"Okay, okay, I know. I'm doing up my seatbelt up right now, see?"

Brushing her wavy blonde hair out of her eyes, she started the car and steered into the road.

_Woah- did I just do what Sheldon told me to? I must be feeling weird._ Penny thought with the hint of a smirk. That is, until her mind flicked back to Leonard.

Why did he have to leave now? Just as their relationship problems seemed to be being resolved, he was leaving. Only recently she had told him she loved him for the very first time- until then Leonard had was always been so much further on in their relationship than she was. So, so much further. Why couldn't he have had to leave years ago, when they were dating other people? That would have taken away those awkward encounters on the stairs and uncomfortable small talk. Now his departure would be taking away months of romantic dates, late night chats and affectionate teasing. This summer would have been their best yet, Penny was sure of it.

Despite all this, she knew Leonard was still insecure deep down. How long would it be without her before his doubts crept back in? Her doubts were fading away now, though they had been there for so long. Years ago, she had lived with Kurt, but living with Leonard had been different. Everything was different with him. With Leonard, things were so much more than a bit of fun, her feelings so much stronger than a crush. A few months back, she had finally confessed her feelings after years of misunderstandings and over-thinking. At least she had told him she loved him just before he left, so that he knew how much he meant to her. Penny promised herself that, no matter how lonely she became, she would not even flirt with anyone else. Okay, maybe a little flirting, but nothing more.

"Penny, may I share an observation?" Sheldon asked tentatively.

"Uh-huh," Penny sighed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for the traffic lights to go green.

"Since Leonard's departure, you have driven peculiarly well and been abnormally quiet. In fact, not once have you exceeded the speed limit or referred to any awful drivers as…"

"Shelly, get to the point."

"Very well. Your actions draw me to the conclusion that you are feeling … sad… or unwell. Am I correct?" He shifted his weight and leaned in slightly.

"Yeah, I'm feelin' pretty blue." She replied, pressing her foot down on the accelerator and moving the car forward. Frowning a little, Penny became aware that the cold, empty feeling was gone, replaced by a melancholy feeling that was so heavy that it felt, quite literally, depressing. Like a heavy weight on her shoulders. She let out a long, slow sigh.

"I knew it! I don't know why I doubted myself; 'unwell' indeed." Sheldon beamed triumphantly and looked back out the window, deep in thought. Hesitantly, he turned back to her.

"Is the despondency you are currently experiencing caused by the fact that your boyfriend has left for the entirety of the summer, which means that the next time you see him will be in approximately four months, by which time…"

"Yeah, you're right. It sucks," interrupted Penny, not wanting to think too much about the dismal weeks ahead.

"… it will be the beginning of Autumn and he will return, no doubt filled with stories of his venture in the North Sea, most probably about his loneliness, the unrelenting wind, his sea-sickness…"

"Alright, alright, I've got the idea!"

"… Oh yes- It is very likely that he will be sea-sick, although not as probable as him spending most of his time alone; most of his new colleagues shall almost certainly reject him because they are considerably intellectually superior than he is…"

"Just because you're jealous of his opportunity doesn't mean… you're not listening are you?"

"… and they will leave him to dwell on the fact that he will not see his girlfriend, his extraordinary roommate or any of his other friends until…"

"Sheldon, I don't want to talk about this, okay? Can you just drop it?" Penny glared at him.

"… The seemingly distant time when he returns to Pasadena, unsure if his girlfriend will have found a more suitable lover…"

"Sheldon! I said I don't want to talk about this anymore! The only reason you're saying that crap is you wish you'd been picked to work with Hawking instead! But you weren't, so just deal with it! Now seriously, just shut up or I swear I'll… I'll… just shut up okay!" Penny yelled at him, her voice thick with fury.

Sheldon's eyes widened; he was clearly taken aback by her verbal attack. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead, he watched the other cars and wondered what he could have possibly said to offend Penny.

Penny felt her shoulders sag down. She knew that he had no intention of upsetting her; in fact he probably had no idea why he had been shouted at. It was just that hearing all her worries about the summer be listed off in such a severe way was unbearable. Suddenly, she remembered something Leonard asked her to do after he told her she was going.

"_Sheldon's nervous about me leaving-just keep an eye on him while I'm gone."_

She joined a queue of traffic and glanced over at the physicist next to her, whose dejected eyes were avoiding hers, desperate not to provoke another outburst. Penny turned to face him.

"Hey Sheldon, um, I'm really sorry for yelling at you. I'm just kind of sensitive right now, you know, and I guess I just lashed out. It's not your fault Leonard's gone. I'm sorry," she explained softly.

"Apology accepted," Sheldon replied, relieved that she had let go of her anger and the car had returned to a comfortable silence. After around 20 seconds, he began talking again, not that Penny was listening to any of it.

Why had she waited for so long? The rocky road their relationship had travelled these last few years could have been smoothed over if she had just told him how she felt. Although, back then she didn't feel like she does now, so there was less to confess. There had been so many misunderstandings, mistakes and arguments that they had each found themselves turning to other people; Stephanie, Priya, Zack and Stuart to name a few, simply because those relationships were, well, easier. Less complications and confusions, just dating. Most of the problems in these other relationships were caused by the fact that Penny and Leonard had feelings for each other. Even now, their relationship was not perfect, with Alex hitting on Leonard at the University and their disastrous Valentine's Day dinner, however they seem to be, for the most part, on the same page. They both love each other.

Letting Sheldon's voice wash over her, Penny turned left and continued her thoughts. As close as she and Leonard now were, the idea of marriage still freaked her out. Their relationship had lasted longer than any of her previous ones; however the concept of staying with the same person forever was just so intimidating. As she changed gear, she had a sudden thought. _If I'm dreading a few months without him, how can I go years without him? _Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so awful if they got married. Slowing down the car, Penny decided not to rule out the idea, but to wait a little longer; a few months, a year? She loved him, however marriage was still daunting.

Penny knew that as these next hours became days, days became weeks and weeks became months, she would miss Leonard more and more. The things she would miss the most would be the little things like his goofy grin and dark, expressive eyes. His geometric print robe and his Kirk impressions. His lengthy physics explanations of scientific concepts that she didn't understand. The way it felt when he held her. Over the summer, she would treasure her memories of him and her one last look at him.


End file.
